Method, system, and device to allow a person a commercial spaceflight

ABSTRACT

The disclosed subject matter involves a skill based game where users predict a future event. Once the contestants make their prediction, the value is recorded and then compared against the actual data of the event predicted when the event occurs. The difference between the actual and predicted value is used to determine a winner of the skill based game. The winner of the competition advances in a tournament to reach the goal of the contest.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/753,009 entitled “Networked Selective Skill Game for Financing Space Travel,” by Sam Dinkin filed on Dec. 22, 2005, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosed subject matter relates to the space program and the availability of non-governmental space flight options to the civilian population. The disclosed subject matter involves individuals pooling their resources for the opportunity for a limited number of them to take part in a space flight. The determination of who will take the flight comes from a skill based game. Moreover, this method of resource collection and candidate selection can be adapted to any number of applications where resources are finite.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A common reason people cannot get something they want comes from lack of resources to get the good or service. When several individuals come together and pool their money, they generally have enough money to buy the item. This has worked in various embodiments over the years.

The problem with pooling of resources comes from generally only enough resources are collected that enough of the item cannot be purchased to satisfy the needs of all the individuals. This means some individuals will profit while others lose. Without a method to determine who will benefit from such pooling that seems fair, individuals are reluctant to enter such agreement.

A prevailing method of selection comes in the form of a lottery. Lotteries operate by random chance. An individual can play for hundreds of lottery competitions and not win. Another person can make a single random entry and win a prize others may have attempted to win for years. While lotteries do not show a preference to who wins, they make the result totally out of the hands of the individuals involved.

Skill based games offer an alternative to lotteries. Unlike lotteries where a random winner is chosen, the winner in a skill based game earns the prize after a successful competition against other contestants where the outcome is not based on random chance but on the ability of the contestants.

One of the newest services that is currently beyond the reach of the average individual is commercial spaceflight. The availability of commercial spaceflight is a very recent development in the field of travel. Due to expense, only affluent members of society possess the financial resources to go in to space commercially. Ordinary individuals generally do not have the resources to fund a space flight. When a large number of individuals pool their resources, they possess enough capital to fund a space flight.

After pooling resources, a determination has to be made as to who will be one on of the finite number of available flight slots. Potential contestants come from those people who cannot obtain a spaceflight (through personal fortune or a member of the astronaut corps). As previously mentioned, the use of a lottery makes the determination totally random. This patent covers a way of selecting a contestant to take a commercial space flight that gives the contestant some control over the selection process. Through use of this skill based game, members of public compete for an opportunity to take a commercial space flight.

SUMMARY

The systems and methods illustrated and described herein have several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope as expressed by the description that follows, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS” one will understand how the features of the system and methods provide

The disclosed subject matter involves a skill based game where users predict a future event. Once the contestants make their prediction, the value is recorded and then compared against the actual data of the event predicted when the event occurs. The difference between the actual and predicted value is used to determine a winner of the skill based game. The winner of the competition advances in a tournament to reach the goal of the contest.

Competition in this disclosed subject matter comes from skill rather than random chance. Contestants make the most accurate prediction on a series of criteria, with the first contestant to get an answer closer to correct advancing. Game play in the example embodiment centers on predicting the weather in Central Park, New York City, N.Y., USA. The competition splits the contestants up into one-on-one competitions to predict what the weather on a given day. Once the official weather report for the day has been announced, the closer of the two to the correct answer advances to the next round of play. This process repeats until there a winner has been declared.

Due to the nature of contestant's minor initial financial obligation and the eventual prize advance security measures are not taken until contestants reach advanced levels.

Contestants select a pay or a free version of the game. The free version has more level of competition due to the income generation scheme, while the pay version allows a user to enter at any level for a predetermined price. Competition ends when a contestant reaches a predetermined level of advancement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosed subject matter will be described with particular embodiments thereof, and references will be made the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the basic mechanics of game play for the primary round;

FIG. 2 illustrates the basic mechanics of game play for the contingency round;

FIG. 3 illustrates how the game is operated when contestants pay for their competition;

FIG. 4 illustrates how the game is operated when contestants do not have to pay for the competition;

FIG. 5 illustrates the non-reputable secure process the shows how to prevent fraud by advanced publication of contestant entire, a digital signature of the publication, and accounting of the money for the winners.

FIG. 6 illustrates the universal presentation of research of the game to make this a skill game;

FIG. 7 illustrates access to the history of the game and the restriction based on game access by pay or free;

FIG. 8 illustrates limitations on comments removed on the system as a function of levels won and comments previously removed;

FIG. 9 illustrates limitations on comments on the system as a function of levels won;

FIG. 10 illustrates the security systems and their differences between standard play and playoff levels; and

FIG. 11 is an example of the controls to be used for the game inputs;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosed subject matter involves a skill based game where users predict a future event. Once the contestants make their prediction, the value is recorded and then compared against the actual data of the event predicted when the event occurs. The difference between the actual and predicted value is used to determine a winner of the skill based game. The winner of the competition advances in a tournament to reach the goal of the contest.

Although described with particular reference to a systems environment, the claimed subject matter can be implemented in a plurality of information technology (IT) systems. Those with skill in the electronic telecommunications arts will recognize that the disclosed embodiments may be realized in ways in addition to those specific examples described below. In addition, the methods of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented using a variety of combinations of software and hardware. The hardware portion can be implemented using specialized logic; the software portion can be stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system such as a microprocessor, PC or mainframe.

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

In the context of this document, a “memory” can be any means that contains stores, communicates, propagates, or transports the program and/or data for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. Memory, recording medium and data store can be, but are not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, apparatus or device. Memory, recording medium and data store also includes, but is not limited to, for example the following: a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), and a portable compact disk read-only memory or another suitable medium upon which a program and/or data may be stored.

The disclosed subject matter may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performs particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The disclosed subject matter may also be practiced in distributed computing environments wherein tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and/or remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

Preferred embodiments of this disclosed subject matter are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosed subject matter. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the disclosed subject matter to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this disclosed subject matter includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosed subject matter unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Although the present disclosed subject matter has been described in detail herein with reference to the illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that the description is by way of example only and is not to be construed in a limiting sense. It is to be further understood, therefore, that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of this disclosed subject matter and additional embodiments of this disclosed subject matter will be apparent to, and may be made by, persons of ordinary skill in the art having reference to this description. It is contemplated that all such changes and additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of this disclosed subject matter as claimed below.

In some situations where a person might not have the means to pay for such a luxury, then a person might have entered a lottery. Lotteries select winners at random, where the only control the contestant has comes from the number of tickets purchased to increase the chance of winning. The lottery system remains arbitrary as anyone can win whether they have played many times or only once.

This disclosed subject matter introduces a level of skill to the equation. While an element of randomness still exists to the disclosed subject matter, the contestants have to make a prediction as to something within the field of common knowledge, the weather. The disclosed subject matter presents a way for a person to win a prize by predicting a quantifiable event. In this embodiment, the prize is a space flight and the data predicted involves the weather.

One embodiment of the present disclosed subject matter uses a webpage as the contestant's primary interface with the game. Other embodiments are available to those skilled in the art regarding an interface between contest promoters and their consumers.

For each round played, the contestant has the ability to advance to a higher level of competition. The goal is to reach the terminal level of competition. The game sponsor establishes the terminal level before competition begins. As contestants play, their wins allow them to get to the level immediately above the one they just played at.

Two tracks of play exist: a primary track and a contingency track. Contestants initially start in the primary track and stay there unless a tie occurs. In the event of a tie, the contestants enter a contingency track and compete against others at his level of advancement to win to reenter the primary track.

Contestants have the option of multiple contests running at the same time. These contests may simultaneously exist at varying levels of advancement. For example, a contestant purchasing five plays, and three of them advance. The contestant has the ability to buy as many plays as he wants, but only the plays that previously won advance the next level.

In this embodiment of the game, the structure of the game has a delay of three days. The first day of the delay comes from contestant making the prediction the day before the event in question occurs. The prediction is made on Day 1. Verification of the correct values takes another day since the event in question occurs on Day 2. The official acknowledgment of the event in question is published on Day 3. This time delay necessitates a three day cycle in this embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of the basic game play. The contestant begins the game 1 from either the paid game shown in FIG. 3 or the free game shown in FIG. 4. The contestant then makes a prediction 2 for the first day he is competing for. The contestant enters the variables to be predicted 2, which in this embodiment are the high temperature, low temperature, precipitation, and humidity of Central Park, New York City, N.Y., US. Once the contestant has entered competition for a particular day, another contestant at the same level of advancement becomes his contestant 3. The system compares the predictions 4. If the values both contestants enter have identical values, then the contestants tie and go to a contingency round 5 as explained in FIG. 2 6. If the predictions of the contestants differ, then the contestants continue to compete in that competition 7. In the event of a tie 8 in competition, the contestants go to a contingency round at the same level as the primary round previously entered 5 as shown in FIG. 2 6. Without a tie 9, the loser exits the game 11, while the winner proceeds with the game based on his avenue of entry 9: either the paid game from FIG. 3 or the free game from FIG. 4 10.

Contestant enters the contingent round of play from the primary round of play shown in FIG. 1. In the event of an identical play or a tied game between two contestants, both contestants go to a contingent round 11. Contestants make the prediction for a contingent play 12 at the time of the prediction of the original round of play or at the time the contingent round announcement. Once the contestant has entered contingency competition for a particular day, he is matched with another contestant at the same level of advancement in the contingency category 13. The predictions are then compared 14. If the contestants both enter the same values, then both contestants tie and go to another contingency round 15. If the predictions different, then the contestants compete in that, round of competition 16. In the event of a tie 17 in competition, the contestants go to another contingency round at the same level as the contestants are competing in 15. Without a tie 18, then the loser exits the game 20, while the winner proceeds with the game based on his avenue of entry 19: either the paid game from FIG. 3 or the free game from FIG. 4.

Contestants do not need to play every day until the contestants either win the game or are eliminated. As mentioned previously, the contestants make their active play and a contingent play that becomes active if needed. If a contestant does not have an active play ready for the next available day, the game places his status on hold until he chooses to make a new play. When he does so, the system places him in competition at the last level of advancement he reached.

While the primary tournament of competition operates, a parallel round of competition operates with the contingency rounds. Contingency rounds operate at the same time and use the same prediction criteria. This allows for a contestant to operate in wither a primary or contingency round simultaneously, depending on the status of the entry he is playing at the time. Contestants can enter the contingency round due to ties in the primary round, and reenter the primary round form the contingency round once the contingency has been resolved. Primary rounds allow for a contestant to advance, while contestants in the contingency rounds stay at the same level until a winner is declared and the winner reenters the primary round at the new level.

FIG. 3 demonstrates the pay version of the game. Winning in the paid version is determined by a contestant reaching a preselected level of advancement. The game beings by the contestant paying the entry fee 21. Contestants start at level 1, or he can pay a proportionate amount more to enter at a higher level of play. Contestants log into the system 22 in order to save the games. The contestant then plays the game in a single elimination round 23 as show in FIGS. 1 and 2. If the contestant did not have to exit the game, he then advances a level in play competition 24. If the advancement brings him to the predetermined level for victory in the paid game 25, then the contestant wins the game 26. If he has not reached that level, the system looks to see if the contestant is unable to advance due to a lack of contestants at his level of competition in the paid game 27. If contestants at his level exist, then he reenters the paid game at the new level 28. If the contestant was unable to advance due to a lack of contestants, then at the discretion of the game organizer, the winner can receive a consolation prize 29.

FIG. 4 demonstrates the free version of the game. Unlike the paid version, contestants in the free version start at level one. The level that determines victory is also adjusted due to different amounts of money the game generates, and may not be the same as the one for the paid version. Structurally the game is the same as the pay version of the game shown in FIG. 3. Contestants log into the system 22 in order to save the game. The contestant then plays the game in a single elimination round 23 as show in FIGS. 1 and 2. If the contestant did not have to exit the game, he then advances a level in play competition 24. If the advancement brings him to the predetermined level for victory in the free game 30, then the contestant wins the free game 31. If he has not reached that level, the system looks to see if the contestant is unable to advance due to a lack of contestants at his level of competition in the free game 32. If contestants at this level exist, then he reenters the free game at the new level 33. If the contestant was unable to advance due to a lack of contestants, then at the discretion of the game organizer, the winner can receive a consolation prize 34.

FIG. 5 shows the security of the process to ensure no fraud on the part of the game host. Contestants make predictions on Day 1. The game shows third party source predictions 35 along with what the contestants prediction of the weather 36. The system publishes the contestants predictions twenty-four hours in advance of the verification time on Day 2 37. A digital signature accompanies the publication for authentication purposes so that no one can attempt to alter the published document 37. The publication occurs a day before the final results are known to allow contestant to verify their predictions were accurately recorded.

FIG. 6 deals with the accounting of the income generated by the system. The game providers will contract a major accounting firm to audit the records of the money collected 38. The game provider escrow the funds for the winner 39. The service provider will also act as an insurance plan to further secure the contestant's winnings 40.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the game involves skill by use of universal presentation of research. The game shows contestants research data from a third party 41. This information comes from any of source that predicts the weather. The contestants input their selection after they see the research 2, 12. The game then looks to see of the prediction falls within the bounds of a third party prediction 42. If the prediction exists within a preset range of the third party prediction, then the system accepts the entry 43. If the prediction is too far outside the predicted range of values, the game will alert to the contestant before he make the play final 44. The game prompts the contestants to see if he would like to change their prediction 45 and are given the option to do so. This will not prevent the play from being entered 46, but acts as a check.

FIG. 8 illustrates access to the historical information in the system. If a contestant has played the game 47, then he has the option to access the historical information 48. If the contestant bought an entry, but not played 47 he also has the option to access the game history 48. If he has not bought an entry then he has not bought the right to access the information 49.

FIG. 9 shows the self moderation of the user messages on the system. This system allows for a form of self censorship and monitoring among users of the game. When a contestant enters the comment system, the system has recorded the number of plays the contestant has paid for plus the total number of wins that contestant has earned 50. The user may choose to delete or post a message 51. If contestant chooses to post a message, the system looks to see if the number of messages posted by the contestant 52 is less than the number of plays paid for or round won 53. If the answer is yes, then the game allows the posting 55. If the number of posts made is equal to the number of plays paid for and round won then the contestant cannot post 55. The system uses a similar set-up to determine if a contestant and delete the comment of another contestant. The system looks to see if the number of messages deleted by the contestant 56 is less than the number of plays paid for or number of rounds won 57. If the answer is yes, then the contestant can delete a comment 58. If the answer is no, then the comment remains 59.

FIG. 10 illustrates the increase of security as a contestant approaches the high level rounds of play 60. If the contestant reaches the playoffs, then the entire transaction authenticates using a SSL 61. Given the increase in security, if the password changes, a verification procedure makes sure the change came from an authorized contestant 62. If a contestant remains at a non-playoff level of play, contestant verification is accomplished by credit card information, personal logins, or by SSL 63. A security check for the lower levels is not necessary in this embodiment of the disclosed subject matter 64.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the format for entering a prediction. Due to the precision of these inputs, the game uses a standardized format for making entries. To make sure precise entries are made, the game format takes the form of ‘pull-down’ menus for selecting the value 65. This disclosed subject matter also has an alternative embodiment where the mechanics of input selection use a format that has been called ‘radio’ buttons or ‘Scantron’ format. Input selection occurs by selecting a button next to the desired value 66. As the values for each column are selected, their values are placed at the top of the column as part of a dynamic display 67. These two ways of input are examples of the flexibility this game offers.

Although the present disclosed subject matter has been described in detail herein with reference to the illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that the description is by way of example only and is not to be construed in a limiting sense. It is to be further understood, therefore, that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of this disclosed subject matter and additional embodiments of this disclosed subject matter will be apparent to, and may be made by, persons of ordinary skill in the art having reference to this description. It is contemplated that all such changes and additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of this disclosed subject matter as claimed below.

The disclosed subject matter described herein is a fundamentally novel method and system. Various changes and modification to the embodiments herein chose for the purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart form the spirit of the disclosure, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is assessed only by fair interpretation of the following claims. 

1. A method for allowing at least one user to win a trip to space on a spaceship using a skill-based game, comprising the steps of: associating a plurality of users with a skill-based game wherein said skill-based game comprises predicting a future parameter value within a range of future parameter values, said future parameter value being undetermined until the occurrence of a predetermined event; allowing each of said plurality of users to make at least one entry into said skill-based game, said at least one entry comprising a user prediction of said future parameter value; receiving from each of said plurality of users a prediction of said future parameter value; determining the value of said future parameter value as an actual parameter value upon the occurrence of said predetermined event; determining for each of said plurality of users a parameter value relationship between said actual parameter value and said corresponding user prediction of said future parameter value, thereby generating a plurality of parameter value relationships; determining from among said plurality of parameter value relationships a predetermined subset of parameter value relationships, each of said parameter value relationships within said predetermined subset comprising a desirable attribute relative to said actual parameter value; and selecting from said plurality of users at least one user corresponding to at least one of said plurality of parameter value relationship; and awarding to said at least one selected user a prize.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined parameter values comprise values of a high temperature, low temperature, precipitation, and humidity in Central Park, New York City within a twenty-four hour period from midnight to midnight on a given day, which values then compare to the predicted future values selected by the users.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of users are divided into subsets to compete against each other before the occurrence of the predetermined event.
 4. A method of raising funds for a private venture, comprising the steps of: associating a plurality of users with a skill-based game wherein said skill-based game comprises predicting a future parameter value within a range of future parameter values, said future parameter value being undetermined until the occurrence of a predetermined event; allowing each of said plurality of users to make at least one entry into said skill-based game, said at least one entry comprising a user prediction of said future parameter value; requiring collection of a fee from either the participant or a third party as a precondition of game play; receiving from each of said plurality of users a prediction of said future parameter value; determining the value of said future parameter value as an actual parameter value upon the occurrence of said predetermined event; determining for each of said plurality of users a parameter value relationship between said actual parameter value and said corresponding user prediction of said future parameter value, thereby generating a plurality of parameter value relationships; determining from among said plurality of parameter value relationships a predetermined subset of parameter value relationships, each of said parameter value relationships within said predetermined subset comprising a desirable attribute relative to said actual parameter value; selecting from said plurality of users at least one user corresponding to at least one of said plurality of parameter value relationship; repeating the competition until a terminal condition has been met to satisfy the costs of the prize; and awarding to said at least one selected user a trip to space on a spaceship.
 5. A system for allowing at least one user to win a trip into space on a spaceship using a skill based game comprising of: a plurality of users; a skill based game comprising: predicting a future parameter value within a range of future parameter values; allowing said users to make a least one entry comprising a prediction of the said future parameter value; allowing said users to coordinate into subsets with other users to compete against for a single round; allowing said users in the subsets to compare predictions against an actual outcome of the predetermined event, after the predetermined event occurs; and advancing a subset of said plurality of users by determining which ones of said plurality of users in a subset make a predetermined prediction; and an interactive device for allowing said plurality of users to input their predictions into said game system.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein said game system further comprises: contestant inputs made at a remote location; said contestant inputs transmitted by a communication medium to a central server; and said server where all game information is collected and processed.
 7. The system of claim 5, further comprising repetition of the game until reaching a termination event selected by the game operator prior to the beginning of the game.
 8. A game where a contestant makes a skill based prediction comprising of: means for allowing a contestant to participate in a game based on skill where said contestant predicts a future value; means for allowing a contestant to compete against others in a subunit of all contestants at an equal level of game advancement, and means for selecting an advancing contestant as a result of said prediction.
 9. The game of claim 8 where the variables predicted comprise independent variables.
 10. The game of claim 9 where the variables predicted comprise physical phenomena.
 11. The game of claim 8 where the winner in the single elimination round advances to the next level in a tournament until a predetermined level of advancement is reached to declare a winner.
 12. The game of claim 8 where contestants comprise assigned to a subset of other contestants in the same level to compete against where: if a contestant wins, he advances to the next level of active play and his contingency play, if previously made, becomes the new active play for the next round; or if a contestant loses, he loses all advancements and reverts to the beginning of game play; or if two contestants tie, they both advance to a contingency round at the same level they were playing at and their contingency plays, if previously made, become active for the contingency round.
 13. The game of claim 12 where contestants sent to a contingency round comprise set to compete against each other and: if a contestant wins, he advances to the next level of active play and his contingency play, if previously made, becomes the new active play for the next round; or if a contestant loses, he loses all advancements and reverts to the beginning of game play; or if two contestants tie, they both advance to a contingency round at the same level they were playing at and their contingency plays, if previously made, become active for another contingency round.
 14. The game of claim 12 where the variables comprise evaluated in a fixed order and advancement from the round is determined by the contestant to get the first variable correct or closest to correct, then the next criteria in the series is looked at until a winner is declared or a tie is found based on both answers being identical or the same offset from the correct answer, resulting in both contestants participating in a contingency round.
 15. The game of claim 8 where the predictions comprise published in advance of the third party announcement.
 16. The game of claim 8 where contestants comprise supplied with predicative information from third parties.
 17. The game of claim 16 where the contestant is alerted to whether his predictions comprise outside of the predicted range of values from the aforementioned third party before the contestant makes his selection.
 18. The game of claim 8, wherein contestants use an interactive display comprising of: an action menu for contestants to make a selection; a login in panel to allow contestants to access their accounts on the game; a play area to allow contestants to make their selections for the game; and a dynamic area displaying regularly updated information relevant to the contestant.
 19. The display of claim 18 wherein contestants inputs comprise made by use of a radio button control display.
 20. The game of claim 8 further comprising repetition of the game until a termination event selected by the game operator prior to the beginning of the game has been reached. 